Bob-omb

This article is about the recurring walking bomb species. For the character from Paper Mario: The Origami King, see Bob-omb (Paper Mario: The Origami King).

Bob-omb
Artwork of a Bob-omb from Mario Party: Star Rush
First appearance	Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (1987, overall) Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988, Super Mario franchise)
Latest appearance	Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch) (2023)
Variants Alarm Bob-omb Black Pit Bob-Omb Bob-omb Car Bob-omb Buddy Bob-omb Fish Bob-ulk Bomb Net Bomb Plant Bulky Bob-omb Buzz-Bomb Chuckya Dark Fawful Bomb Designbomb Dreamy Bob-omb Fly Bomb Giga Bob-omb Glad Bob-omb Hanabihei Kab-omb King Bomb Lethal Bob-omb Lob-omb Mega Bob-omb Mezzo Bomb Microbomb Paper Bob-omb Paper Macho Bob-omb Parabomb Rob-omb Shroob-omb Smell Bob-omb Tail Bob-omb Time Bob-omb
Relatives Bombite
Comparable Bomb
Notable members Admiral Bobbery Bob-omb (Paper Mario: The Origami King) Bob-omba Bomberto Bombette Bruce Bub Fahr Outpost mayor Fred Gattai monster General White Gob Goldbob Jerry King Bob-omb Lucky Master Crash Nob Pa-Patch Rob Swob Sylvia

“We do our jobs, and when we're done, there's always another Bob-omb there to take our place. All any of us can hope for is to make an impact.”

—Bob-omb, Paper Mario: The Origami King

Bob-ombs (originally formatted as Bob-Ombs) are living, moving mechanical bombs with eyes, feet, and windup keys on the back. They are generic enemies that first appeared in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, a non-Super Mario game that was later remade as Super Mario Bros. 2. Since then, Bob-ombs, along with Shy Guys, have made more reappearances than any other enemies introduced in the same game. Their appearance, intelligence, and status with Mario differ widely from game to game. They are usually a bluish-black, but some variations are pink or red. They also flash red and sometimes make beeping sounds if they are about to explode.

History

Main article: History of Bob-ombs

Bob-ombs first appeared in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, later released in the Western world as Super Mario Bros. 2. Bob-ombs appear as both enemies and allies in the Paper Mario series. Many games of the Mario Kart series feature Bob-ombs as items. In the Mario Party series, Bob-ombs appear in several of the minigames and sometimes on the boards themselves. Bob-ombs also appear in several Yoshi platforming games.

General information

Appearance

Bob-ombs have always resembled bombs with a few differences. The main difference is that they have white eyes, feet, and occasionally arms. They are traditionally colored black, but they can also be seen in red, blue, or even green. In most games, they feature wind-up keys on their backs and fuses, though these are lacking in a few old games. The fuse is usually surrounded by a gray or blue plug. A possible precursor of a Bob-omb can be seen in the Template:Media link in VS. Wrecking Crew. Curiously, in Super Mario Bros. 2 and during the Paper Mario ending parade, Bob-ombs are shown to have arms. In some games, Bob-ombs are seen to have yellow-orange feet and legs, but others in Super Mario Sunshine have feet resembling that of a wind-up toy. Upon closer observation, it can be seen that a Bob-omb's feet and legs are a segmented exterior of a potential endoskeleton.

Color variations

Template:More images Bob-ombs can have several different colors. The following is a list of all known Bob-omb colors and their first appearances.

Image	Color	First appearance
	Black	Super Mario Bros. 2
	Blue	Super Mario All-Stars
	Purple	Super Mario All-Stars
	Pink	Super Mario 64 (as Bob-omb Buddies)
	Red	Mario Party (as Bob-omb Buddies)
	Green	Yoshi's Safari
	Yellow	Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
	Magenta	Mario vs. Donkey Kong
	White	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
	Gold	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
	Silver	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
	Bronze	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
	Brown	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Allegiance and culture

Bob-ombs are usually affiliated with the Koopa Troop, and it is assumed that they take orders from King Bob-omb, one of Bowser's high-ranking minions. However, whether King Bob-omb is the true king of all Bob-ombs is never explained. In recent years, the games have introduced peaceful Bob-omb communities that have no affiliation with Bowser whatsoever, and their homeland in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is known as Fahr Outpost, an isolated town located in a far-off icy land. The town is ruled by a Mayor, and all Bob-ombs take orders from him or General White. These Bob-ombs are generally peaceful but seem to dislike outsiders and prefer to keep to themselves. However, by the end of the game, they become more welcoming. The Fahr Outpost Bob-ombs' culture seems to resemble that of Russia, from the clothing right down to the accents.

Also, in more than a few instances, Bob-ombs were often depicted warring each other, with it often being split between Bob-omb Buddies and Black Bob-ombs.

Roles

Bob-ombs serve multiple roles in various games. In their most common appearances, they are enemies who explode upon being irritated, although they sometimes chase after Mario upon seeing him, exploding in a few seconds. Bob-ombs can also be used as weapons, particularly in the Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. series. Bob-ombs are also involved in several mini-games in the Mario Party series. In Paper Mario: The Origami King, it is implied that Bob-ombs "die" when they explode; but many Bob-ombs in the earlier games, including the partners Admiral Bobbery and Bombette, seem to regenerate after exploding.

The first time a Bob-omb is friendly is in Super Mario 64, when Pink Bob-ombs help Mario by opening cannons. They later appear as friendly (though some are also enemies) in the Paper Mario series.

Bob-ombs appear as items in several Super Mario sports titles. In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, they are Wario and Waluigi's signature item. When thrown, they stand still for a moment before exploding, throwing any nearby drivers into the air. If the radius is fading, it only causes a spinout. In Mushroom City and Mushroom Bridge, Bob-omb Cars can be seen, and if a player accidentally drives into one, it will explode like the Bob-ombs that Wario and Waluigi use as Special Items. In Mario Kart DS, Bob-ombs return similarly, as they did in Double Dash!!, but this time, it can be used by any character instead of being a special one. Curiously, in the remake version of Mushroom Bridge, Bob-omb Cars do not appear. The Bob-ombs also return in Mario Kart Wii as a regular item and an obstacle in Moonview Highway as a Bob-omb Car.

In Super Mario Strikers and its sequel, Mario Strikers Charged, Bob-ombs are items, and they do almost the same as they did in the Mario Kart series. Here, Bob-ombs can be obtained alone or in a set of three. Also, a giant form of a Bob-omb, called a Mega Bob-omb, sometimes appears, acting like a normal Bob-omb, but its explosion radius is roughly four times larger, plus it sends out a shockwave, harming anyone near it. In Mario Power Tennis, the Bob-ombs appear as an item in the minigame Chain-Chomp Challenge and are also part of the audience in the Wario Factory Court.

Profiles and statistics

Main article: List of Bob-omb profiles and statistics

Nearly every Bob-omb bio touches upon their signature behavior of exploding, though some bios also make allusions to their fuses and wind-up keys.

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Bob-omb.

• 

  Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic

• 

  Super Mario Bros. Print World

• 

  Yoshi's Story

• 

  Mario Party 3

• 

  Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

• 

  Mario Kart 8

• 

  Super Nintendo World

Additional names

Internal names

Game	File	Name	Meaning
Super Mario Sunshine	root/data/scene/pinnaBeach1.szs/scene/bombhei/nejibomb_model1.bmd	nejibomb	Screw-bomb

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ボブ Bobu	Bob (Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic / Super Mario USA)
	ボム兵へい Bomuhei	Bomb Soldier; translated as "BombTrooper" in the Japanese version of Super Smash Bros.; officially either romanized as "Bomhei" or "Bomb Hei"
	ボムオム Bomu Omu	Bomb-Omb (Super Mario USA)
Chinese (simplified)	炸弹兵[?] Zhàdàn Bīnɡ	Bomb Soldier
Chinese (traditional)	炸彈兵[?] Zhàdàn Bīnɡ	Bomb Soldier
Dutch	Bob-omb[?]	-
German	Bob-omb Bombe (Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga)[?]	- Bomb
Italian	Bob-omba Bobomba (in some earlier games)[?]	From "bomba" (bomb); since the word "Bomba" is a feminine noun, originally the enemy name was considered as such (singular: "la Bob-omba"; plural: "le Bob-ombe"), in later games it was decided to give make it a masculine name due to the presence of the male name "Bob" (singular: "il/la Bob-omba"; plural: "i Bob-omba")
Korean	폭탄병[?] Poktan Byeong	Bomb Soldier, translation of the Japanese name
Portuguese	Bob-bomba[?]	From "bomba" (bomb)
Romanian	Template:Nowrap Bombiță (Super Mario World television series)[?]	Bob-omb Diminutive of "bombă" (bomb)
Russian	Боб-омб[?] Bob-omb	Transliteration of the international name, Bob-omb
Spanish (NOA)	Bob-omba[?]	From "bomba" (bomb)
Spanish (NOE)	Bob-omb Bomba (Mario vs. Donkey Kong) Bomba rosa (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)	- Bomb Pink bomb (5-DK / 6-DK)

External links

• Bob-omb on Zelda Dungeon Wiki
• Bob-omb on Triforce Wiki